A Love Worse Than His Bite
by lloneewwolff
Summary: A twist on the 'Little Red Riding Hood' stories! A romance with the wolf plus some references from other fairy tales. (Rated High Teen)


Red was a helper at a neighborhood bakery, 'Sweet Shoppe', she just delivered on her bike during the week. Her long brown hair flowed down her back and to her shoulder blades, her eyes the same brown as a warm chocolate cookie out of the oven. She loathed her daily look, just some jeans and a red cape over a white shirt. In fact, she rather didn't like the way she looked in the first place.  
Her narrow face structure and almond eyes really reflected her looks. Her skin had no visible blemishes, and it was smooth and soft.  
Many people in their neighborhood were jealous of the teenager, mostly other people around her age. She was a normal girl; she had crushes, bullies, and everyday problems that you might face as well.

**Welcome to the story, reader.  
A Love Worse Than His Bite.**

Little Red had a job to do today; she had to deliver some baked cookies to her grandmother. She sat up from her bed and stretched, curling her toes as she did so. She stripped of her nightgown and into her usual attire, nothing special, and headed to the bakery. Her grandmother lived far out in the woods by herself, Red and her mother were quite concerned by that. Sure, her grandmother wasn't bad, it's just… you never know what's out in those woods.

So every month, Red is sent out there to go check on her grandmother to bring her cookies. Red didn't hate doing it, but even just thinking about 'The Woods' gave her the creeps. So today, she would take herself and set out on the familiar journey.

She stepped into the bakery and looked around to see if anyone was here. She peeked her head around the corner into the kitchen and saw Gretel working on some cupcakes.

"Good morning, Gretel! How are you today?" Red asked as she hung her hood on the coat rack so it wouldn't get in the way.

"Oh no!" Gretel huffed to herself and threw away yet another cupcake, she had a quivery hand. "Ah, Red… It's nice to see you this morning. I decided to come in early and try to assemble myself and focus my hand better. So far, I've had no luck whatsoever." She frowned and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, keep at it. I have to go to grandmother's today and drop of her monthly batch of cinnamon cookies. I'll be back by six o' clock, so please tell the boss…" She smiled and pulled the cookies from the heating rack and let them sit for a minute as she got a basket ready.

"What, it's been a month already?!" Gretel scoffed at herself and flipped a blond pigtail over her shoulder. "Well, tell grandmother I said 'hi'!" She smiled over to Red. "Are you sure you want to go alone? I could go if you wanted, I mean, The Wood is a scary place, no matter how brave you are! I have no damn idea how grandma does it…" She had a look of concern on her face and spread some icing on top of a vanilla cupcake.

Red just rolled her eyes and placed the cookies in the basket, gesturing to her hip. "I have my knife on me just in case. I'll be fine, Gretel." She smiled and picked up her cape, slipping it back on, she pulled the hood over her head. "Well, I'm off, and I'll be back soon." She grabbed the basket and headed out the door, the door giving a small chime of a bell.

"Please be careful, Red!" She frowned and the fear glistened in her green eyes. "Please…"

*~**~*  
Red enjoyed her neighborhood, everyone was nice and welcoming. The lady who lives in the shoe, the three pigs and three blind mice are all on Main Street. Of course, along with little Red herself, and her mother. If you turned right, Hansel and Gretel's house would be right in front of you, and then Goldilocks and the bears were next to them. They had many more neighbors but those houses were not in the direction Red was heading.

When she finally neared the end of the road, she took a deep breath and walked forward. A couple of the neighborhood teens looked at her with a pleasant grin, it scared her.

"What sons of witches!" Red whispered to herself once she couldn't see them anymore. They were awful to her and many other friendly people in the town, just jealous little sluts they were. It drove Red crazy with what they did; they have gone to extremes on many occasions.

But Red was a strong girl and wasn't to be easily messed with. All they had ever done to her physically was put gum in her hair. And that really didn't even do anything since her hair was so long at the time. She just had to cut it a bit, is all.

The Woods seemed to get deeper and scarier every single time she went. She hated that her mother made her do this, and most of all why she went by herself. Sure, Gretel offered, but Red knew how much of a cry baby she was and just decided to be nice.

She recognized the familiar path by her own feet, after a few trips she had left a path. She had the way memorized like the back of her hand but it was always helpful. Like what Gretel said to her many years ago when they were young. _**'Always leave a trail just in case you get lost! But make sure nothing will be able to move it. Hehe.**_' That seemed to be Gretel's favorite saying, she said it so much.

Red shuffled her way down a hill, making sure to avoid the tree root just waiting to be tripped over. She snapped a twig on the ground, making a bird take flight suddenly. Red sighed, letting her heart slow down for a bit. She decided it was time to rest.

Red sat on the clear, dirt floor and leaned her back against a tree. Out of her backpack, she dragged out some lunch. A plain peanut butter and fairy dust sandwich for a good energy boost, and enchanted pond water in a bottle for a drink. It wasn't much but it'll keep her going.

She stood back up after packing everything away again and set on the rest of her walk. Right about then, she felt like something was watching her. It was probably another bird or something, so she just ignored it. She had been having this feeling for a while, even as she slept at night. It was starting to get a bit too strange for her liking. She didn't know what else to do so she just casted it as paranoia and carried on with her life.

Red looked up towards the sky and sighed, checking her watch. "Ugh, it's already three o' clock. Gretel is going to be pissed." She groaned and tried to speed up her walking pace up a bit.

Finally, at about four-thirty, she arrived at the door of her grandmother's house. Her face was dirty and her shoes wet and muddy. She was sure grandmother would have a cow, but she knocked on the door.

It took a while but she heard some footsteps, the unlocking of the door to reveal her grandmother. Her plump body fit perfectly with the apron she wore, her long, grey hair feel to her shoulders.

"Ahhh! Red, it's so nice to finally see you!" She smiled and held Red close in a hug, making Red laugh. "But my, please slip your shoes off and come in, we'll clean your face up…" She walked into the house as Red was taking off her shoes.

Red stepped in and breathed in the sweet air of her grandmother's house. It smelt like fresh baked gingerbread, and her grandmother smelt of peppermints. She walked in and went into the bathroom, sliding her hood back and washing off her face. The warm water felt so great on her face, she moaned a bit at the feeling. She sat up and wiped off her nose with a towel, when she opened her eyes. The newspaper sat right beside the toilet from this week. For some reason, it wasn't delivered to her house. She picked it up and glanced at the first page.

**'THE WOODS CARRY A DARK SECRET OF THE UNKNOWN.'**

Red was instantly drawn to it by the headline, as she was headed back today and for her grandmother. She took a deep breath and continued to read the article.

**'Could The Woods be home to another dangerous creature? We have had many witnesses say that they have seen a grey creature run through the night in the cover of the woods. Some say it's a bear, but some beg to differ. Some say tiger, but most of our accounts have been a giant wolf. The Woods are dangerous, please, to all, be careful outside at night…'**

Red didn't want to continue; she set the newspaper down and came back out into the kitchen. Her grandmother was making a nice soup over the stove for the two of them. Red's heart had been pounding, she took off her cape and hung it on the coat rack.

"Are you hungry, dear? I made your favorite soup, and we can have your amazing cookies for dessert!" Grandma smiled and gestured to the basket on the table. Red nodded and ran a hand through her long hair, meeting a few small leaves and tangles.

"Yes please, grandma, that'll be great before I head home." She laughed weakly and tried to pick at her hair to pass the time. She tapped her leg on the ground and took a minute to look at the fire burning in the fireplace. She was trying to distract herself from the outside, she was too afraid of it as of right now. Now that she thought about it, she would have been better if she let Gretel come. Gretel may be a cry baby but she's a good survivor if she needs to be.

Grandma finally had dinner ready; everything looked perfect as Red started to dig into it. She smiled and took a sip of her tea, picking up a cookie and nibbling on it. Red didn't know if she should ask grandma about the newspaper in the bathroom. She did think it would be good to ask someone before she went out there.

"Grandma, I saw the newspaper in the bathroom. Maybe I should get going, as it's getting pretty dark." She frowned at the thought of going out there at night but she really had no more options. It was about an hour after when she said she would get home.

"Well, honey. Maybe you're right. Let's get you set for the trip." Grandma smiled nervously and gave Red some gingerbread cookies in the basket. "Please return safely, and tell your mother I said 'hello'." She smiled and stood in front of the door.

"Thank you, and I will. Gretel said to tell you hello as well…" Red smiled and grandma nodded. Red grabbed her hood and slipped it over her head.

Red made her way out the door and into the dark night. Grandma had also given her a flashlight and some tea in a thermos. Red began walking out into the night, trying not to think about anything but her bed waiting at home. She took a deep breath and began running, not wasting any of her time outside.

About half way there, she groaned and caught her breath, wiping her brow. She leaned against that same tree from earlier and nibbled on a gingerbread man and took a sip of tea. She packed it all up again and just continued to walk. She made her to about half the tall hill and heard a crack behind her. She gasped and began running again, only to trip on that damned tree root! She groaned as she fell to the ground, her head pounding as it hit the hard earth. She tried to move her ankle around but noticed it burned like hell. She sprained it.

It was the wrong time as she was feeling dizzy, looking behind her to see bright, purple eyes staring right into hers. She couldn't scream, as it might lunge at her, whatever it was! But it let out a low growl, as she heard it stepping forward, she closed her eyes and fell into a sleep.


End file.
